Hacking activists counter-attack online

SAN FRANCISCO: Islamic State sympathisers using social media to spread propaganda and recruit fighters are now drawing an increasing amount of return fire from activists who have been knocking some sites offline and infiltrating others.

The loose hacking collective Anonymous is the latest to draw attention to such campaigns, with members claiming credit this week for having thousands of pro-militant Twitter accounts disabled.

But others claim to have been doing more for longer. One group that feeds information to the US government says it has suppressed tens of thousands of Twitter accounts since January, and its members have posed as would-be recruits to gain information on so-called Dark Web operations supporting the Islamic State group.

“We’re playing more of an intelligence role,” said the executive director of Ghost Security Group, who declined to be named, citing security concerns. The group is a volunteer organisation that has been sending data to the FBI and other agencies via a congressional terrorism adviser, Michael S Smith II. Smith said the group’s infiltration efforts had given some actionable information to the government, and that co-ordinated complaints to Twitter had helped push Islamic State supporters elsewhere.

US agencies “appreciate the outside support. I have constant feedback to that”.

Retired General David Petraeus recently said he had reviewed Smith’s data and it “would be of considerable value to those engaged in counter-terrorism initiatives”.

The FBI declined to comment.

Smith, chief operating officer of defence contractor Kronos Advisory, said the Ghost Security Group contacted him in June and provided screenshots of internal communications about an impending attack in Tunisia, which he said he passed along and which helped break up a militant cell in time.

The Paris attacks on Friday have brought an increase in online activity against the jihadists, but freelance efforts remain fraught with hazards.

Civilian hacking and denialof-service attacks are illegal no matter the target. – Reuters